Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday announced that he had issued instructions for registered Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan to be allowed to open bank accounts.
“From now onwards they can participate in the formal economy of the country” the premier said, referring to registered Afghan refugees.
“This should have been done a long time ago“, Khan concluded.
Pakistan is one of the largest refugee-hosting nations in the world, home to an estimated 2.4 million registered and undocumented people who have fled Afghanistan, some as far back as the Soviet invasion of 1979.
The move came months after Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement about granting Pakistani citizenship to the children of Afghan refugees had stirred a controversy. As the opposition parties protested against it, he had to provide an explanation that the government would consult all political parties on it before taking a final decision.
